Need help Reading? Text-to-Speech Plugins

To make surfing the web and reading emails easier for people, many web browsers have text-to-speech plugins.

Google Chrome, Safari, and Mozilla Firefox each have their own plugin, while Internet Explorer supports many Microsoft text-to-speech software.

Google Chrome has a free download called Chrome Speak that works on Windows, Chrome OS, and Mac OS X. You simply select the text and click "Read the selected text" from the menu to hear it read aloud. Chrome Speak is useful for longer texts, can be translated into many languages, and is compatible with Windows, Chrome OS, and Mac OS X.

For Mozilla Firefox, there are two options. FoxVox is one of the text-to-speech options for Firefox, where you simply highlight the text you want read. Text to Voice is the add-on that will appear in any tab in Firefox and will read the selected text.

Since there isn’t a specific plugin for Internet Explorer, Microsoft offers a variety of text-to-speech downloads for your computer. Microsoft Reader and Windows Narrator are the Microsoft text-to-speech products.

For any other Apple computer, Safari has a text-to-speech plugin as well, listed under the Services menu. All you have to do is highlight the text and click "Start Speaking."

If you own an Apple computer with Mac OS X, you won’t need a plugin! The operating system comes with its own built-in text-to-speech program. VoiceOver is Apple’s screen reading technology, and to launch it, all you have to do is press Command + F5.